Snowstorm
by foxyhawes
Summary: "Christmas is a time to be with the ones you love, right? Then there's no one else in this world I'd rather spend it with than you." Harry returns from America to spend Christmas with Nikki, but how will she react? Mindless Christmas fluff!


_I wrote on Twitter that I'd post a Christmas fic at some point, so here it is. This story started off as one thing and morphed into something else entirely. I don't even know what happened. This doesn't really have much of a plot, it's just me playing around with the idea of a H/N christmas post-s15. I apologise for taking so long, writer's block is a massive bitch._

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**Snowstorm**

Climbing out of the cab late on Christmas eve, you catch the first of many snowflakes as it lands on your coat. There's something about winter in London that makes it so much more special than in New York. The frosty wind in America always felt like it was pushing you elsewhere, but now the breeze embraces you and welcomes you back as if it missed you dearly during your absence.

You asked the driver to drop you off down the road from Nikki's home, allowing you a moment to contemplate whether you really want to do this, though you needn't have bothered. You're practically aching to see her face and feel her presence. You've felt a little empty without her recently after becoming so used to having her invade your personal space on a regular basis. The invasion just isn't the same when it's someone else.

The snow gradually begins to fall more quickly, settling on the pavement and creating a white pathway before you. You walk faster than you thought you would towards Nikki's apartment, having to be exceptionally careful to avoid falling flat on your face. The last thing you need is any physical pain to add to your recent emotional trauma.

The walk is shorter than you remember and with every step it becomes difficult to take steady breaths. Once you finally reach her home, your heart is beating so fast it feels as thought it could burst out of your chest at any moment and land with a messy thud on the doorstep. Your clenched fist makes contact with the door once, twice, three times before you hear any movement from within. It occurs to you how easily you could turn around and pretend that you didn't return for Christmas... Pretend that you didn't return for her.

Before you've even had the chance to take a deep breath and halt the constant whirring in your mind, the door is being swung open and you're face to face with her. It's a terrible cliché, the way the world stops turning and the snow stops falling and everything in the past fades away when your eyes make contact with hers. You feel as though your heart has stopped upon seeing her, yet at the same time you've never felt so alive. She visibly falters for a second at the sight of you and you don't know if the paleness of her complexion is down to your presence or the bitter chill lingering in the night air.

"Nikki?" You say, practically choking on her name as it tumbles off your tongue.

"Harry? Oh my God!" Nikki squeals like a child on Christmas morning, practically pouncing out the door and wrapping her arms around your neck. "Leo never said you were visiting!"

"He doesn't know, I wanted to surprise you both." You laugh at her excitement, feeling the excruciating longing fade away the second you feel the warmth she emits.

She invites you in and you feel relief swell in the pit of your stomach when it feels like you never left at all. No pictures of new boyfriends have been hung on the walls, her DVD collection is still perfectly in order and you can still smell her perfume lingering in the air. Nothing has changed. Well, apart from the rather large christmas tree standing in the corner of her living room, illuminating the dark with its twinkling lights and silver tinsel.

"Wow... I never saw you as one to go all out on Christmas decorations." You say, hanging your coat over the back of the sofa.

"Oh, usually I'm not that bothered about trees and tinsel, it just gave me something to do when you were-" She stops then, looks down at the floor then back up at you, a forced smile tugging at her features. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"We have to talk about all this, Niks."

"No, we don't," she replies, walking in the direction of the kitchen. "You're here now, there's no point going over it. You've moved on, Harry, I can live with that."

Deciding to leave it at that to avoid an argument this close to Christmas, you simply watch Nikki walk back towards you and accept the large glass of wine she offers.

"If I knew you were coming back I would've got some champagne..."

"No worries. This is perfect."

She smiles at you then and you relax. You're both trapped in a comfortable silence for a while, not at all awkward, as you sip your drinks and look out at the snow that's gradually rising higher and higher on the ground. Your mind drifts back to the Christmas before, back when you worked at the Lyell Centre and the two of you had spent the day at Leo's. It occurs to you then how quickly the time has flown by.

Nikki suddenly tears you from your musings, "So... I take it Christmas in New York all isn't all it's cracked up to be?" She teases.

"Something like that. Christmas is a time to be with the ones you love, right?"

"That's what they say, yes..." She sounds unsure, a smile playing with the corners of her lips as if she's imagining where this is going.

You take a deep breath and put your glass down on the table. "Then there's no one else in this world I'd rather spend it with than you."

Her glass clinks against the table as she puts it down and you feel her before you see her; the side of her head finding your shoulder and her arms wrapping themselves around you.

"God, I've missed you," You feel her breath on the crook of your neck as she whispers to you, just loud enough for you to hear her but quiet enough for it to sound like a secret she's never told anyone else before. "So bloody much."

"I know," you nod slowly, putting your arm round her shoulders in return and pulling her closer, pressing a light kiss upon her head. "I've missed you too."

Her dark eyes bore into yours when she moves her head and looks up at you; silent tears form as she swallows in fear as if fighting an internal battle. She moves closer and kisses your cheek, her lips lingering for longer than necessary and her fingers trailing upwards to play with your hair. Lightly travelling across your cheek, her lips finally reach your own, but she pulls back slightly, her face still dangerously close to hers to the point where she's the only thing you can see.

"We haven't got any mistletoe," you whisper, trying not to break the spell.

The lights from the tree glint in her eyes and she doesn't falter for a second. "Sod the mistletoe." She replies, gently pulling your head down until your lips collide with hers. Your mind freezes as if it contains a monsterous snowstorm; the flakes falling from the top of your skull and settling around your brain. And it is then that you really feel like you've come home.

Your fingers get lost in her blonde locks as you fight to get her as close as possible, taking in every ounce of her and the hold she possesses over you. This is infinitely sweeter than you'd imagined your first kiss with Nikki to be, and you'd imagined it rather often, but even in your mind it had always happened so differently. It'd be fast and passionate and leave you breathless. This is the opposite. This sort of connection after so many years cannot be rushed.

"Stay here," she says as you part. "Just stay here with me tonight. I'm tired of waking up on Christmas morning alone."

"Of course I will," you nod. You look out the window and see snowflakes still falling from the sky leaving everything covered in a thick layer of white. It's perfect. "How the hell did I ever leave all this behind?" You ask, and Nikki knows instantly that you don't just mean christmas in England.

"Merry christmas, Harry." She smiles.

"Merry christmas, Niks."

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_Thanks for reading! A review would be a fabulous christmas present, guys. *hint hint* I hope you all have a wonderful christmas and a very happy new year. :-)_


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